Theobald and Christina, however, were
satisfied that they had done their duty by opening their son's eyes to
the difficulties of assenting to all a clergyman must assent to.
This was enough; it was a matter for rejoicing that, though they had
been put so fully and candidly before him, he did not find them
serious. It was not in vain that they had prayed for so many years
to be made "truly honest and conscientious."
"And now, my dear," resumed Christina, after having disposed of
all the difficulties that might stand in the way of Ernest's
becoming a clergyman, "there is another matter on which I should
like to have a talk with you. It is about your sister Charlotte. You
know how clever she is, and what a dear, kind sister she has been
and always will be to yourself and Joey. I wish, my dearest Ernest,
that I saw more chance of her finding a suitable husband than I do
at Battersby, and I sometimes think you might do more than you do to
help her."
Ernest began to chafe at this, for he had heard it so often, but
he said nothing.
"You know, my dear, a brother can do so much for his sister if he
lays himself out to do it. A mother can do very little- indeed, it
is hardly a mother's place to seek out young men; it is a brother's
place to find a suitable partner for his sister; all that I can do
is to try to make Battersby as attractive as possible to any of your
friends whom you may invite.
Pages:
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363